


No Words

by whenitsdarkest



Category: Grace and Frankie (TV)
Genre: ALL THE ANGST, Dancing, Drinking, F/F, Kissing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 21:50:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12850218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenitsdarkest/pseuds/whenitsdarkest
Summary: Frankie moves to Santa Fe and pesters the hell out of Grace until she visits.  There was a reason why Grace didn't want to visit in the first place.





	No Words

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, sometimes my brain goes off in a completely different direction for no reason. I started to work on Chapter 2 for “We Go To Waste Like Wine” and then this happened. Oops. Set after Season 3, assuming that Frankie moves to Santa Fe. Also, I may or may not have a ‘thing’ with Grace and Frankie texting/phone angst. Thanks a lot, awesome Grace and Frankie fanfic writers. ;)

After weeks of begging by way of text messages, phone calls, and an obnoxious fruit arrangement (bananas, of course Frankie would go with bananas), Grace finally relented and made the trip to Santa Fe to visit Frankie for a week. Everything had been _fine_. Jacob was a gracious host, and drove Frankie and Grace to every local touristy type attraction, and to the local hangouts so Grace could see how _well-adjusted_ Frankie had become. 

It was an overly platonic visit, with minimal casual touching between the two. Sure, Grace grasped Frankie’s fingers every now and again as they gossiped about whatever recent drama had befallen their children. Or Grace would swat Frankie’s shoulder when Frankie made semi-crude comments about Nick Skolka. It was light, friendly, and not at all what Grace felt inside. She wanted nothing more than to sweep the eclectic woman into her arms and hold her impossibly close against her thin frame, to breathe in her essence, to draw it into her body by pressing their lips together. She _missed_ her so much, and couldn’t quite put it into words.

Being in Santa Fe in the close proximity of Frankie turned up the intensity of how much Grace missed her, and made it almost unbearable. Grace thought that by coming to see Frankie with her sunshine and rainbows happiness of living in Santa Fe with Jacob would put her feel-sorry-for-herself mood off into oblivion since Frankie’s happiness was worth more than her own. It only served to magnify it. It taunted Grace every single day she was there, and made her look forward to leaving so she could wallow in her impending loneliness, or Frankielessness. 

Everything was outwardly fine until the last night of Grace being there. A “Say Yes Night” was the encore of the trip, sans Jacob. After all, what harm could the two women do at a bar? It wasn’t even a heavily populated bar, but full enough so that no one really paid attention to them.

“Okay, okay, time for shots. I vote tequila!” Frankie clapped both hands together with glee as Grace sat perched across from her at the table. Her bracelets jangled together in a short melody as if she were her own instrument.

“N-… ugh. Fuck, okay, yes.” Grace’s face scrunched up in distaste, but was quickly replaced with a smirk. “Paybacks are hell, Frankie, remember that.” She shifted on the tall stool, setting her handbag on the tabletop as she looked away to the other patrons in the bar. They were sparse and not too close to their location, which was more than fine by her.

Frankie’s response was a nonchalant shrug as she searched for their server in the dimly lit bar. Waving the young woman down, she placed an order for two double shots of tequila.

“You do know I still have to leave _tomorrow_ , Frankie, right? The plane isn’t going to sit in park and wait for my hungover ass.” Grace said with a tinge of alarm.

“Oh, c’mon. If there’s anything you’re a pro at, it’s drinking. Don’t worry, I will make sure you’re up bright and early, with plenty of time to gulp back a few aspirin and put concealer on that pretty face of yours,” Frankie chuckled.

With a shake of her head, causing her blonde curls to bounce off her cheekbones, Grace rolled her eyes and looked away to anything aside from Frankie. Mirth still lit her features, though; despite the bittersweet emotion she was feeling about leaving to go back home to San Diego the next day. Despite her emotions boiling just below the surface as she tried to keep them contained, Grace couldn’t help but notice that Frankie didn’t seem _that_ happy throughout the week. There was a slight sadness about her, as if she was ashamed that she left San Diego. Grace would catch her gaze sometimes during the last few days; it lingered a bit too long, seemed to ask questions without sound. It made her wonder…

“Here you go!” A perky voice interrupted Grace’s thoughts. Their server had returned, setting the two shot glasses down in front of them, and a small bowl with a few lime wedges.

Frankie reached over for the salt, licking the top of her left hand before sprinkling a bit there. She offered it to Grace, who mimicked Frankie’s action of licking the top of her left hand and let Frankie pour the salt on it. They both picked up a lime wedge in their left hand, and then the shot glasses with their right.

Finally, Grace had to look at Frankie. She drew in a deep breath and pulled her gaze up to her, finding her serene face behind a mess of brunette hair with flecks of silver. Neon lights from a nearby whiskey sign reflected off of her, giving her a white glow. Grace chewed the inside of her bottom lip as discreetly as possible. 

“To another successful ‘Say Yes Night’ which did not end up with us being kicked out of an establishment, although, the night is still young,” Frankie thrust her shot glass upward toward Grace, waiting patiently for the blonde to catch up with her actions.

“Yes, please don’t jinx us.” Grace met Frankie’s shot glass with a ‘clink’ and they both lifted their hands to lick the salt, and then quickly downed the liquid. Their faces immediately puckered as they pursed their lips over the lime wedges. It was a not-so-perfect mix of salt, sourness, and the incredible burn of the tequila. Grace could feel the burning sensation traveling through her chest and _lower_. She prayed this was the last shot, or she wouldn’t be able to control herself around Frankie. She had a hard enough time being in her presence sober, and hard liquor with no filler would only make it exponentially difficult.

No such luck. Frankie was already in the middle of flagging down the server for another order of the same liquid fire.

“Oh, Grace! Let’s dance after our shots get here! It’ll be like dancing on the bar top, but not!”

Grace couldn’t help but chuckle at the comment. “Alright, alright, fine. I’m only doing this for you, you know…and because I’ll probably never set foot in this place again,” she said wryly. As if to explain her reason why, she glanced around, trying not to rest her attention on Frankie for too long. Not many people were even dancing to the late 90s to mid 2000s mix that was being blared out of the speakers. A few groups of soccer mom types were congregated together, gyrating and drunkenly shrieking at each other. Grace gave a half-smile at them, knowing they likely earned this night out without bratty children clamoring for every need and want. Her attention had to go back to Frankie at some point, and so it did. Another deep breath. She could do this, less than 12 hours to go and she could be in the safety of her own home to deal with these feelings, emotions, whatever the hell they were.

“So, you really love it here, huh?” Grace had to raise her voice to be heard above the hip-hop music blaring out of the speakers. And of course, it just happened to be the song they danced to on the bar top those couple of years ago. _These 12 hours won’t pass quickly enough_ , she thought to herself.

“Oh…this is the song…” Frankie must have noticed the expression on Grace’s face as she recognized the song. Her hand reached across the table to Grace’s wrist to brush her fingers against her skin. “You were determined to make me have a great time that night, Grace.”

Grace couldn’t speak. Hell, she couldn’t even swallow back the lump in her throat. Her eyes dropped to the table, focusing on Frankie’s hand. Instead of trying to find the words, she nodded.

“Here you go, enjoy ladies!” The server of impeccable timing deposited the two shots of tequila, and whisked away the empty shot glasses.

Frankie’s hand snapped back from Grace’s wrist, going to the glass, and she waited for Grace to do the same.

Slower in reaction, Grace slipped her fingers around the glass and glanced up at Frankie. “Here’s to another great night with you, Frankie.” She hoped she was loud enough for Frankie to hear her above the noise. Judging by the softest smile to land upon the woman’s face, Grace could tell she did hear. Returning a smile just as kind, Grace slid her glass across the table to tap against Frankie’s, and then took the shot without the salt or lime this time around.

After that, the bar became soft and fuzzy. Leaving a few bills on the table to settle their tab, Grace and Frankie made their way to the dance floor, taking care not to be wounded by the flailing arms of the more animated group of women. They danced, but didn’t touch, always a few respectable feet apart. Grace felt a tightness in her chest, watching Frankie’s smile become a permanent feature on her face. The tequila amplified the tightness and added a slowly burning fire to the mix. They danced for several songs, until something slower came on. Grace gestured toward the exit with her thumb and a questioning look to Frankie. The smile slowly melted away, and Frankie nodded, leading the way to the exit.

Following Frankie for a few steps and then pausing near the door that would lead them to the parking lot, Grace pulled out her phone, swiping her fingers a few times to bring up the app to order the Lyft to pick them up.

Frankie turned around from the exit, and walked directly toward Grace who was still several steps behind her staring at her phone. She wrapped both arms around Grace’s ribcage, encircling her body as she pulled her close. She felt a puff of air escape Grace as the hug was unexpected, and it nearly caused her to drop her phone.

“I’m going to miss you _so much_ , Grace,” Frankie murmured into Grace’s shoulder. 

Sighing, Grace wrapped her arms around Frankie, drawing her in even closer. Her arms squeezed the brunette firmly, phone still in hand.

“I know, why do you think this has been so hard for me?” Grace’s voice was low and thick. She pulled away a bit, arms still tight around Frankie, and without any indication of hesitation, Grace pressed her mouth to Frankie’s lips, lingering there for several long seconds, ready to pull away at any sign of discomfort from the other woman. Her eyes closed and she’s sure Frankie’s did as well. She tried to explain to Frankie with that intimate contact how much she meant to her but could never find the words to convey it. Maybe that was a good start, though.

They pulled apart for the briefest of moments, and then Frankie leaned back in for another kiss, more forceful than Grace’s had been judging by the slight bump of their noses. Their lips sealed together, unmoving and resting against each other. Their lips were warm and flush together, salty, with a tinge of lime, and the unmistakable scent of each other mixed together.

After withdrawing once more, Frankie set her cheek against Grace’s shoulder. Her arms tightened, not willing to let go just yet. “We should head back, it’s getting late.” There was no amount of convincing in her tone; it sounded like that was the absolute last thing Frankie wanted to do.

The Lyft ride back to Jacob and Frankie’s place was silent, and they sat a respectful distance apart in the backseat.

Jacob had been in bed for hours by the time they arrived home, but neither of them was anywhere close to being tired. Electricity seemed to bounce around them, and Grace didn’t know what to do with it. Frankie thrived on it. She moved to the stereo and put on a Fleetwood Mac CD, keeping the volume on the low side so as not to wake up Jacob.

Several songs caused their dancing to become closer and closer, until their bodies were melded against each other, hip bones practically bumping against each other when one would try to lead over the other during the slower songs. Frankie buried her cheek against Grace’s shoulder, squeezing her arms around her shoulders tightly. Quiet laughter sprinkled the air every so often, especially when Frankie would spontaneously try to pirouette away with a flourish and back into Grace’s arms.

Grace felt like her heart would explode, but she couldn’t put anything into words anymore it seemed, so she carefully guided Frankie out of the line of sight of the hallway that led to her and Jacob’s room. The kitchen was only a few feet away. Their dancing slowed as Grace gently pressed Frankie against the kitchen counter, her hands sliding up and down Frankie’s sides to her hips and back up her ribs, feeling each bone along the way. She leaned in close and Frankie met her the rest of the way, their lips fusing together once again. Grace couldn’t pull her hands away and sought the edge of Frankie’s top, fingers scrambling beneath it so she could feel her smooth skin to trace the same pattern over and over, this time without fabric in the way. She felt Frankie inhale deeply and pull her head back so she could catch her breath.

“Wow, y’know how people say they have to catch their breath when they kiss?” Frankie’s voice was soft. “I used to think that was such bullshit.” Her hands were on Grace’s back, sliding upward toward her neck. She could feel the contours of the woman’s back and the warmth radiating from her. “But not with you Grace Hanson. Fuck, you’re taking my breath away.”

Grace let a sad smile appear before she dropped her head back to Frankie, sealing another promise to her lips. A promise that she would always take her breath away and give it back in one fell swoop. A promise that she could be there for Frankie _if she would let her_. If she would _choose_ her. A promise that she would put up with hats in the dishwasher, the smell of sage in her bedroom, paint in the kitchen sink, the shower, the back patio, _anywhere_. Anywhere if it meant that Frankie was back in her life.

They stood that way in the kitchen for several long minutes, Frankie’s back starting to smart with the edge of the counter digging into her flesh, only soothed by Grace’s fingers gliding up and down her midsection, never daring to go higher than one of her middle ribs or lower than the top of her skirt. Their mouths were still pressed together, Frankie occasionally brave enough to nip at Grace’s bottom lip, drawing out a soft groan from the blonde. It was all too much for Frankie and she finally had to deftly move away from Grace. “I need air…” she whispered hoarsely. Her long skirt billowed out slightly as she quickly walked to the sliding door of the patio to go outside.

Grace drew in the biggest breath of air she thought she ever took in her life. What was she doing? Putting Frankie into this position…literally? She chewed at the inside of her mouth anxiously, waiting for Frankie to come back into the house. Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst, she busied herself with turning the music down and making up her bed on the double air mattress on the far side of the living room. She smoothed the sheets, fluffed up the two pillows, and took her pajamas out of her duffle bag to change in the bathroom down the hall.

Making sure to take quiet steps to the bathroom, Grace looked in the mirror, expecting to feel ashamed, or guilty. She felt neither. In fact, she felt just fine with everything she had done that night, even if Frankie was with Jacob. After all, Frankie had a choice in the matter; she could have stopped and chosen not to be a willing participant. Grace finished changing, completed her nightly routine of cleaning the makeup from her face, and brushed her teeth, complete with extra mouthwash afterward.

As she entered the living room, she stopped momentarily, her heart skipping a beat as she saw Frankie curled up on the air mattress, facing the middle of it. _Oh no, dangerous road ahead. With curves. Fuck it._ Finding the ability to move, Grace set her clothes in her bag, and did a quick check to make sure every single button was fastened on her pajama top before she moved to the other side of the air mattress to lie down next to Frankie. In response, Frankie inched closer, nuzzling her face into Grace’s pillow, eyes closed. Grace tentatively laid her head next to Frankie’s, pulling the blanket over herself, but not Frankie, so as not to cause suspicion if Jacob happened to wake up. She pressed her lips to Frankie’s forehead, sleep quickly taking her over thanks to the mixture of alcohol and her emotions in overdrive.

At some point in the middle of the night, Frankie woke up groggily, stumbling to the bathroom. Water. She needed water. Using the restroom and then drinking a glass of water, she swished some mouthwash for a moment. _Just in case_ , she told herself. Feeling the tiniest bit of guilt, she walked back into the living room, avoiding Jacob’s bed altogether, and pulled one of her Southwestern motif afghans around her shoulders as she sunk onto the couch that faced the top of the air mattress. She stared at Grace’s sleeping form, or at least the top of her head. Her insides craved being beside the woman again, curled up against her body, but she knew that would look incredibly inappropriate if Jacob were to wake up and see them. Her body physically ached with yearning to be next to Grace on the air mattress, and it took all of her self-control and maybe some of her prior lives’ self-control to remain on the couch. Frustrated sighs poked through her lips, and she finally fell into a restless sleep, her cheek pressed against the couch cushion.

Hearing Grace move around the living room in the morning, Frankie sat up slowly, watching her as she sat upright on the couch. Her shoulders, back, and hips screamed at her for putting them through such misery, but she ignored them.  

Grace had packed the majority of her things the day before, and only had a few more things to place in her bag. She used the restroom again, and when she exited a few minutes later, she put her toiletry bag into her duffle bag. She went for the casual active wear look, since her flight was so damn early, and large sunglasses would be her friend, along with a large cup of coffee once she got to the airport.

She stood in front of Frankie with a soft sigh. “My Lyft will be here in a minute…” Grace’s voice was raspy. She lifted her arms, indicating she wanted to give Frankie a hug, and waited for her to pull herself up from the couch, the afghan still settled around her shoulders. She pulled Frankie against her, holding her tightly, as Frankie’s arms encircled her as well. Grace leaned back to look at her, keeping her in her grasp. Frankie tried to smile, and went to lean forward against Grace’s shoulder. She didn’t get far. Grace maneuvered an arm out of the hug to catch Frankie’s chin with her thumb and index finger and forcefully tugged her face in her direction. Grace tried to convey her ‘goodbye’ with the warmth of her mouth on the other woman’s, tasting the subtle mint of the mouthwash she used several hours ago, or maybe it was Frankie’s? Her arms went back around Frankie as they stood there, lips pressed together firmly. Hearing floorboards creaking, they backed away from each other as Jacob ambled into the living room from the hallway.

“Good morning ladies. Grace, leaving already?”

“Ah, yes, my ride is almost here. Thank you again, Jacob.” Without hesitation, Grace turned from the hug she had wrapped Frankie in, and moved to Jacob to hug him gently with as much air as possible between them. It was her famous ‘Grace Hanson air hug’ that was close enough to make the recipient feel like they were cared about without Grace being too close to them. Not at all the type of hug she had been enveloped with Frankie just seconds ago.

Frankie stepped back from Grace as she had went to hug Jacob, tugging the blanket around her shoulders tightly. For fuck’s sake, her mouth was still wet from Grace’s kiss, and Jacob was talking to them like nothing happened. At least, nothing that he saw, she hoped. Frankie rubbed her lips together, her tongue tasting Grace on them as she drew in a sharp breath.

“Here, Grace, I’ll take your other suitcase out and walk you to the car.” Frankie let the blanket slide from her shoulders onto the couch and she rolled the suitcase from the living room to the door. “Jacob, dear, could you start some tea?” she called out as she exited the house. _Air. Air. Need air._

“I appreciate you letting me stay here, and thank you again for showing me around town.” Grace flashed a quick smile in Jacob’s direction as she set her sunglasses on top of her head, and leaned over to zip up her bag that was on the floor.

“Ah, don’t mention it. Glad you enjoyed yourself, Grace. Take care.” His deep voice rumbled as he disappeared into the kitchen to make Frankie’s tea. Thankfully, the kitchen counter could not speak of what had happened against it several hours ago to the tune of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Seven Wonders.’

Hefting the duffle bag onto her shoulder, Grace made a quick getaway outside, finding Frankie standing there with her rolling suitcase. Before she could say anything, Frankie took a step closer and wrapped Grace into a firm hug.

“Be safe, Grace.” Frankie’s voice was quiet and sad. She wasn’t sure what else she could say at this point, and didn’t want to cause Grace to miss her flight either by going off on some longwinded tangent of feelings. Frankie definitely needed to process this, and maybe even record a video diary or two.

Grace nodded, squeezing her arms around Frankie before she moved away, a hand reaching up to pull her sunglasses over her eyes to mask any type of moisture that might threaten to appear. The same hand reached for her rolling suitcase and she started down the sidewalk toward her ride. She glanced over her shoulder as Frankie stood there watching. “This isn’t the end for us, Frankie,” she said plainly.

So why did it feel like it was? It felt like she would never see Grace again. She was flying away from her, and Frankie was helpless to stop her. Frankie watched the blonde as she headed to the car that had arrived to take her to the airport, and had to look away. Instead of staying to wave goodbye, since it didn’t feel sufficient enough to convey that message any longer, Frankie went back into the house. 

 

 **Two Weeks Later**  

Frankie fidgeted in her seat, a ball of anxious energy that was stuck in one place. She was desperately trying to focus on the conversation of Jacob and one of his friends as they ate lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant. Sam? Stan? Hell if she could remember. All she could think about was a certain blonde who managed to bring a pink tint to her cheeks yet again. Several times a day, Frankie would think back to the night from a couple weeks ago. It kept playing on a repeat loop in her head and she couldn’t change the channel. Chewing on the inside of her lip, Frankie glanced down at her bowl of rice, kale, and hummus, mixing the ingredients but not really eating. _‘This isn’t the end for us, Frankie.’_ What a joke. She had not heard from Grace since she left two weeks ago aside from a short (boring) text thanking her for the hospitality for the week, and to let Frankie know she was home safe from the airport. Frankie’s response was a red heart emoji and an angel. She mulled for two weeks on what to say, what to text, e-mail, something. But nothing seemed _enough_.

Jacob was too involved in his conversation to notice Frankie’s currently sullen mood, and for that, Frankie was relieved. It was as if looking at him would give her secret of two weeks ago away.

Looking up from her food to scan the decorative atmosphere of the restaurant, Frankie’s gaze stopped. A chalkboard rested haphazardly on the bar. It was small and unassuming, probably no bigger than an 8x10 photo frame. Frankie drew in a sharp breath as she saw it. Her lips quirked up into a brief smile, an idea forming in her mind. Glancing over to Jacob and seeing he was still otherwise occupied with his friend in their conversation, Frankie dug into her purse to pull out her phone. With a few swipes of her index finger, the camera flicked on. She zoomed in to the chalkboard, and snapped a photo. Holding the phone close to her chest, she scrolled through her contacts for Grace’s name, and sent the photo by itself.

A little over 800 miles away, Grace’s phone chirped from the coffee table. Her eyes lifted from the novel that was nestled against her knees as she sat with her legs drawn up against her on the sofa. She saw the name that flashed on the notification screen. Frankie. She inhaled slowly, deeply.

Grace tentatively opened the message, and squinted. Pausing for a moment to try and understand what the picture meant, she finally typed a response back. 

Grace: _Haha, that’s funny, I was just thinking about you._

Grace: _What the hell is ‘teamo’ though?_

The picture was a small chalkboard that had the word “Te” and then two checkboxes as options beside it. “Amo” and “quila.” The bottom of the board had a tiny drawing of shot glasses and lime wedges. A check mark was in the box next to “quila” so the reader would see that ‘Tequila’ was the obvious choice between the two.

It took several seconds, and the gray dots popped up as Frankie began her response.

Frankie: _Get it? Its like the shots we did when u were here_

Frankie: _Te amo…not teamo. 2 words - Google it Graceykins….._

Grace’s brows knit together slightly as she pulled up the browser on her phone to search ‘te amo’ now that she had some direction. Translated from Spanish to English, ‘te amo’ meant ‘I love you.’ Her heart stopped. Somehow she had always known, but for it to be in writing. Even if it wasn’t in plain text. It was wrapped up in a cutesy joke. Or at least, something that could be passed off as a joke if the recipient was not keen on the message. Joke or not, it was close enough. Grace pressed her knuckles to her lips, whispering to herself. “Oh, fuck…”

Frankie: _U find it?_

Frankie: _Or did u get distracted by a cute Siamese kitten video? I kno how much u like cat videos_

Frankie: _Grace? Grace McGee. Grace-mo. Graceliicous._

Frankie: _R u mad @ me? Sry…it was just a joke???_

Grace: _No, no, I’m not mad, Frankie. I found it._

Grace: _And Frankie? Back at ya._

Frankie wanted to cry into her rice, kale, and hummus mixture. Hell, Grace would probably scold her for adding more salt to the meal, but she couldn’t put into words what she felt or what she wanted to do. If it wasn’t the end, then how could she make it begin?


End file.
